Frequent readers of my blog may (or may not) remember that one of my New Year’s resolutions was to spend more time making the most of living in one of the world’s greatest capital cities and partaking in some of its more "cultural" pursuits. I’ve been meaning to go to the Globe Theatre on the South Bank near the Tate Modern for simply ages so on Tuesday Emma (fellow member of the Microsoft DPE team and fellow culture vulture) and I headed off for some high brow entertainment to see Measure for Measure. En route we stopped at Butler’s Wharf Chophouse, one of the many Conran restaurants littered around London right on the river next to Tower Bridge, for the some of the best and most traditional of British food whilst watching one of the most amazing displays of thunder and lightning across London.

So the Globe Theatre is supposedly a faithful reconstruction of the open-air playhouse where William Shakespeare originally worked and for which he wrote many of his plays. Situated on the banks of the River Thames it has a commanding and panoramic view of St Paul’s Cathedral and really is an amazingly intimate setting to watch a play.

According to critics Measure for Measure suffers from an identity crisis and is apparently a problem play. It opens with Vincentio, the Duke of Vienna suddenly departing his kingdom and resigning his power to his deputy Angelo. Under Angelo’s rule a vigorous campaign ensues against lechery and sexual licence begins. Love is no defence under these newly fortified laws and one of the first to suffer is Claudio who is arrested and sentenced to death for making his lover, Juliet, pregnant before making her his wife. The Duke however makes a dramatic return disguised as Friar Ludovico but will he intervene to spare his people from Angelo and how can he respond when young lovers are imprisoned against brothel keepers and bawds?